Incubator



Aug. 2o, 1929. C. Y. HAKE 1,725,634

INCUBATOR Filed April 19, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l SYM-WM 50.

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES .CHARLES Y. I-IAKE, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

INGUBATOR.

Application med'Apl-n 19,

This invention relates to an egg supporting and tilting device for incubators.

An obj ect of the invention is the provisionV of an egg supporting and tilting device for use in incubators of the cabinet type, whereby the entire number of eggs in the trays may be tilted simultaneously Without necessitating entering the incubator or necessitating the opening of any doors, the tilting device being actuated by an operating means located exteriorly of the cabinet which may be manually actuated or driven by an electric motor or other power.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a vplurality of open metal `racks adapted to support trays having a foraniinous base, said racks being formed of angle iron construction to permit circulation of the air, means being employed for tilting all of the racks at predetermined angles above and be- W horizontal planes passing through the supports of the racks.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device for supporting and tilting a series of egg trays simultaneously and eX- teriorly of the usual cabinet housing the trays, the actuating meansfor causing tilting including means for maintaining the trays in any position desired, the construction being such that the trays may be inserted upon opposite sides of the frame Work Which supports the tray carrying racks.

This invention Willbe best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, in connection With the accompanying drawings; nevertheless, it is tobe understood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure being susceptible of such changes and modifications as shall define no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

1n the drawings Figure 1 is a side View in elevation of an egg supporting and tilting device constructed according to the principles of my invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Figure 3 is a vert-ical section takenalongv the line 3 3 of Fig. 1,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical section through one of the supporting and actuating chains for the racks,

Figure 5 is al longitudinal vertical section of the egg supporting and tilting device,

Figure 6 is a horizontal section of the device,

1928. Serial N0. 271,216.

F iO'ure 7 `is an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 designates aplurality of vertically disposed :bars arranged in parallel spaced relation, which are connected together at their lower ends by transverse bars -11. The eX- treme upper ends of the bars are connected by means of transverse bars 12. Bars 11 have inturned ianges 13 Which are bolted at 14 to the vertically disposed bars 10. A plurality of bars 15 disposed in a horizontal and parallel relation are connected to the bars 10.

A shaft extends longitudinally of the frame and is mounted in bearings in the transverse bars 11. A second shaft 21 located in the same vertical plane Withthe shaft 2O is mounted in bearings inthe bars 12 and extends longitudinally oft-he frame. `Each of the shafts has spaced sprocket Wheels 22 and 23 over which chains 24 are trained.

A Worm gear 25 is secu-red to the shaft 2O and meshes With a. Worm 26 fixed to a transverse shaft 27. The shaft 27 is mounted in a cup-shaped bar 28 secured to one of theuprights 10, so that a heXagonally-shaped end 29 of the shaft is in a position tobe received by a socket 30 of a crank 31, When said socket is inserted Within an opening 32in theupright 10. Collars 33 are secured to the opposite ends of the shaft for maintaining the shaft in position in the frame. A motor 34 may be directly coupled With the other end of the shaft 27 for driving' the same.

Each of the chains is composed of a plurality of links fbetWeen some of Whichare interposed rings 41 to receive the ends of stub axles 42. This stub axle receives bearings 43 formed at one end of a plate 44 which is connected to the outer end bar 45 of an open rack 46.- The axle 42 is maintained in engagement `With t-he ring 41-by means of a Washer 47 and a cotter pin 48. The plate 44 is located intermediate the ends of the open rack46. Plates 49 are also secured at the ends of the racks and pivotally connected together at 50.

The longitudinal bars 15 are provided With longitudinal slots 51, adapted to receive pins 52. These pins are rounded in bearings 53 of plates 54 which are secured to the bars 45 of the open racks 46, and at the outer ends of said racks. These pins or rods 52 extend longitudinally and in parallel relation With the side edge of a rack 46 and are vprovided with flanged rollers 55 which are received within the slots 5l of the bars l5. A washer 56 and a cotter pin 57 prevent slippage of the rods 52. not only aid in supporting theouter ends of the racks 46, but guide said racks when lthey are tilted, as will be presently explained.

A tray 60 preferably formed of metal, conforms to the shape of each open rack 46 and neatly tits within said rack. The bottom of the tray, as shown at 61 has an opening which is covered by a foraminous material 62 which will permit the circulation of air through the eggs during process of incubation.

The operation of my device is as follows:

rlfhe eggs are packed neatly in the' trays (SO with the points down, and the crankl is operated until the racks lo are in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 5. The trays are then placed within the racks and itted neatly within the same so that the flanges of the racks will support the trays in position and prevent the trays from falling out of the racks when they are tilted at an angle to the horizontal as shown in Fig. As many of the frames are placed in an incubator room as possible. Of course, the number of frames depends upon the capacity of the room. The frames are made sufficiently wide so that the racks may carry several trays instead of one, and the trays may then be placed in the racks from opposite sides of the frame. After all of the racks have been filled with the trays, the operator will close the incubator, and the crank 31 or the motor 3A which is located upon the outside of the incubator, is operated intermittently for causing the trays to be moved to a lower tilted angle, and then alternately elevated so that the racks will assume an acuate angle to the horizontal above each respective bar 15. By placing the eggs point down and by periodically reversing the angular position of the trays with respect to each horizontal bar l5, the eggs are tilted in opposite directions so that the body of the eggs Within the shell will be moved from opposite sides and thereby prevent the embryo from sticking to the shell. Furthermore, by placing the eggs point down the embryo will grow with the head of the chick towards the upper enlarged portion of the eggs where an air cell is provided so that the young chicks will obtain sufficient oxygen when the membrane is broken atthe time the chick is breaking through the shell.

By the use of the worm 26 and the toothed gear 25, a lock is provided to prevent rotation of the shaft 2O` at any position of the racks so that the racks may be maintained either in an upper position or lower posin tion without resorting to a braking means.Y

Instead of placing all the racks in posiltion that they all move downwardly when the sha-ft 2O is rotated, alternate vertical rows of the racks may be so positioned that while The slots 51 and therods`52' one series of racks are being moved upwardly, the other series of racks are moved downwardly thereby providing a counterbalance and an equilibrium of the weight, for facilitat-ing the operation of tilting.

During the tilting operation, the outer ends of the racks move outwardly while also being maintained in a horizontal plane by means of slots 51 and rods 52, so that when the shafts l2 are moved to a horizontal position, the trays will be located in alignment with their respective bars i5.

An aisle may be provided centrally of the incubator or a plurality of aisles may be provided with the frames arranged to form the aisles whereby it is possible to enter the incubator and move along the aisles for the removal or application of the trays to the racks.

I claim l. A device of the character described comprising aframe work, sprockets carried by the framework, chains trained over the sprockets, racks having their inner ends connected withthe chains, said framework including bars provided with elongated slots. rods mounted in the slots and connected with the outer ends of the racks, and means for rotating one of the sprockets, for causing the chains to move the inner ends of the racks in a vertical plane while the outer ends are moved through a horizontal plane to provide for the tilting of the racks.

Q. A device of the character described comprising a frame, sprockets mounted for ro tation on the frame, chains trained over the sprockets, racks provided with lateral pro- ]ections along one edge, said projections being provided with bearings, pins connecting the bearings and attached to the chains whereby movement of the chains will cause tilting of the racks, said frame including bars provided with longitudinal slots, rods having their ends slidably mounted in the slots, means connecting the rods with the outer en ds of the racks whereby the outer ends of the racks are movable away from `the chains andl swingably mounted on the rods, and means for rotating one of the sprockets for moving the chains.

i?. A device of the character described comprising a frame, shafts mounted in spaced relation on the frame, sprockets secured to the shafts, means for rotating one of said shafts, chains trained over the sprockets and provided with links, a pair of racks having` theirrinner ends provided with laterally prdjecting plates, alined bearings on the free ends of the plates, stub shafts received by the links and by the alined bearings for pivotally connecting the inner ends of the racks to the chains, said frame including longitudinally spaced bars provided with slots, rods slidably mounted in the slots and pivotally connected with the outer end of the racks, the rotation of the sprockets causing movement of the inner end of the rack in a vertical plane and the opposite ends of the racks in a horizontal plane providing for tilting of the racks.

4. A device of the character described com prising a frame, shaft-s mounted in spaced relation on the frame, sprockets secured to the shafts, means for rotating one of said shafts, chains trained over the sprockets and provided with links, a pair of racks having their inner ends provided with laterally projecting plates, alined bearings on the free ends of the plates, stub shafts received by the links and by the alined bearings for pivotally connecting the inner ends of the racks to the chains, said frame including longitudinally spaced bars provided with slots, flanged rollers mounted in the slots, rods supported by the rollers and having pivotal connection with the outer ends of the racks, the rotation of the sprockets causing movement of the inner end of the rack in a vertical plane and the opposite ends of the racks in a horizontal plane providing for tilting of the racks.

5. A device of the character described comprising a frame, shafts mounted in spaced relation on the frame, sprockets secured to the shafts, means for rotating one of said shafts, chains trained over the sprockets and provided with links, a pair of racks having their inner ends provided with laterally projecting plates, alined bearings on the Afree ends of the plates, stub shafts received by the links and by the alined bearings for pivotally connecting the inner ends of the racks to the chains, said frame including longitudinally spaced bars provided with slots, rods slidably mounted in the slots and pivotally connected with the outer end of the racks, said means for causing rotation of the shaft including means for retaining the racks in any desired position when tilted by the movement of the chains.

6. A device of the character described coinprising a frame, shafts mounted longitudinally of the frame and intermediate the sides of the frame, sprockets secured to the shafts, chains trained over the sprockets and disposed in a vertical plane, racks located upon opposite sides of the chains and having lateral extensions pivotally connected together and connected to the chain, the frame including bars at the sides of the frame provided with slots, rods slidably mounted in the slots and having pivotal connection with the outer ends of the racks upon opposite sides of the chain, said rods being movable in a horizontal plane longitudinally of the bars, and means for rotating one of the shafts whereby the inner ends of the racks are carried upwardly and downwardly by the chains.

7. A device of the character described comprising a frame, shafts mounted longitudinally of the frame and intermediate the sides of the frame, sprockets secured to the shafts, chains trained over the sprockets and disposed in a vertical plane, racks located upon opposite sides of the chains and having lateral extensions pivotally. connected together and connected to the chains, the frame including bars at the sides of the frame provided with slots, rods slidably mounted in the slots and having pivotal connection with the outer ends of the racks upon opposite sides of the chains, said rods being movable in a horizontal plane longitudinally of the bars, and means for rotating one of the shafts whereby the inner ends of the racks are carried upwardly and downwardly by the chains, said racks having openings and trays carried by the racks and having openings covered by a reticulated material.

8. A device of the character described comprising a frame work, sprockets carried by the frame work, chains trained over the sprockets, racks having their inner ends connected with the chains, said frame work including longitudinally disposed bars, rollers mounted at the outer ends of the racks and rotatably supported on the bars, and means for rotating one of the sprockets, said racks adapted to be tilted upon opposite sides of and at angles to the horizontal planes passing through the axes of the rollers.

9. A device of the character described comprising a frame, a driving shaft mounted for rotation transversely of the frame and provided with a worm, a shaft extending longitueinally of the frame and provided with a worm gea in mesh with the worm, means for rotating the transverse shaft, sprockets rigid with the second mentioned shaft, an idling shaft spaced from the longitudinallyl disposed shaft and provided with sprockets, chains trained over pairs of similarly disposed sprockets on the idling shaft and the first-mentioned shaft, frames pivotally connected with the chains, and means for slidably supporting the outer ends of the frames, said worm when rotated being adapted to cause rotation of the second mentioned shaft, and tilting of the frames, the meshing of the worm with the worm gear providing a means for retaining the frames in any position desired.

10. A device of the character described comprising a frame work, sprockets carried by the frame work, chains trained over the sprockets, racks having an end pivotally connected with the chains, means for slidably supporting the outer end of the racks, means for rotating one of the sprockets and including a worn, and a worm gear in mesh with the worm, said worm and worm gear being adapted to retain the frames in any desired tilted position.

ll. In an incubator, a supporting member, an adjusting member mounted for movement in a path angularly related to the supporting member, a tray rack, means pivotally connecting the tray rack to the adjusting member, and means slidably and pivotally connecting the tray rack to the supporting member, the opposite ends of the tray rack being movable in opposite directions thereby provid'ng for various tilting positions of the racks.

12. In an incubator, a supporting member, an adjusting member mounted for movement in a path angnlarly related to the supporting member, tray racks arranged at opposite sides of the adjusting member, means pivotally connecting the adjacent sides ot the tray racks to the adjusting member, and means slidably and pivotally connecting the opposite sides of the tray racks to the supporting member, the opposite ends of the tray racks being movable in opposite directions thereby providing for various tilted positions of the racks.

13. In an incubator, tray racks, an adjust ing member for the tray racks, means connecting one side of each tray rack to said member, and means supporting the opposite sides of the tray racks for movement in a straight path towards and from said member, the opposite ends of the tray racks being movable in opposite directions thereby providing :tor various tilted positions of the racks.

14. In an incubator, tray racks arranged in opposed relation, an adjusting member positioned bet-Ween the tray racks, means connecting the adjacent sides of the tray 4o racks to said member, and means for supporting the remote sides of the tray racks for movement in horizontal paths toward and from said member, the opposite ends ot the tray racks being movable in opposite directions thereby providing` for various tilted positions of the racks.

15. In an incubator, a tray rack, a plurality ot" pivots, means connecting the tray rack to the pivots, means for supporting the pivots- 50 tor movement in vertical and horizontal planes, certain ot the supportingy means being capable ot moving the pivots supportedthereby, the oppositev ends of the tray rack being movable in opposite directions, thereby providing for various tilted positions ot the racln I 16. In an incubator, a plurality of vertical series of tray racks, means for movably supporting corresponding sides of each series of the tray racks in horizontal planes, a vertically movable adjusting member tor each series of tray racks, means for pivotally connecting the other adjacent sides of the tray racks to the adjusting members, and means 60 for moving the 'adjusting members in opposite directions, the ends of the racks adjacent the adjusting member being movable in a vertical plane While the other ends of the racks are movable in horizontal planes to providefor various tilted positions of the racks.

CHARLES Y. IIAKE. 

